I woke up on Wednesday, April 22 — the second day of the North Carolina General Assembly short session — expecting a typical day as I reviewed news, emails and upcoming bills.

I knew House Bill 696 — the Medicaid rebase funding — would be front and center on that day’s calendar. That was expected.

What I didn’t expect was Senate Bill 214 suddenly appearing on the calendar after sitting in conference for months.

When I pulled it up and read Section 5, I had to stop and read it a couple more times to ensure my eyes weren’t deceiving me. 

This bill would allow Franklin County the unprecedented authority to condemn or acquire property in Halifax, Vance, and Warren counties without the consent of our county commissioners.

Before doing anything else, I called county government leaders. No one had been consulted. No one even knew it was coming.

That’s when everything shifted.

My phone started ringing. Texts, emails and social media messages poured in. People from across our communities — residents, elected officials, local leaders, activists, advocates, etc. — were all asking the same thing: what is this, and how do we stop it? 

And just as quickly as the communication commenced, people came together. Across county lines, across backgrounds, even across party lines, there was unity in saying this wasn’t right.

I reached out to colleagues, including Republican senator Norm Sanderson who represents Halifax and Warren counties. He hadn’t been aware of Section 5 either. He was the lone Republican to vote against SB 214 later that day on the bill’s second reading in the Senate.

After fellow Democratic representatives and I raised our concerns about Section 5 during floor debate in the House, Speaker Destin Hall pulled the bill from that day’s calendar and placed it on the calendar for Tuesday, April 28.

But what troubled me most wasn’t just the policy — it was how it got there.

SB 214 started as a local bill, which meant it couldn’t be vetoed by Governor Josh Stein. It became a conference report, meaning amendments couldn’t be introduced to change its content. Section 5 had been inserted at the last minute. The bill hadn’t become public until April 21 — the first day of the short session — and was placed on the next day’s calendar for a vote. There had been no communication with local officials or the state legislators representing the impacted counties for the opportunity to provide input.

I had heard about this kind of process taking place in Raleigh for years — moving legislation quickly without full scrutiny or understanding. It’s a pattern of governing we’ve seen from Republicans since they assumed power in 2011, and it will continue until something changes. Section 5 is the result of continuing to elect leaders whose actions demonstrate they are more concerned with profit and power than the people. They would have never attempted to sneak in a provision, especially one as consequential as Section 5, unless they felt they could get away with it.

But this was about more than process. It was about people, history, and respect.

Halifax, Vance, and Warren counties are majority-Black, rural communities with deep, complicated histories around land, power, and representation. 

Warren is the birthplace of the environmental justice movement and is home to Soul City, a vision for Black economic empowerment. 

Vance was formed in 1881 through gerrymandering that diluted Black voting strength. Halifax is home to the Halifax Resolves, the first official declaration by any colony for independence from Great Britain.

Some of those counties included in Section 5, namely Franklin, Halifax, and Warren, are also home to citizens of the Haliwa-Saponi Indian Tribe. Their ancestral lands — The

Meadows — would be directly impacted. For many, this wasn’t just a policy debate. It felt like history repeating itself — decisions about land and resources being made without the consent of the people who live there.

So, people spoke up.

County commissions, municipal governments, economic development groups, civil rights organizations, and a tribal nation passed resolutions of opposition. Residents organized, mobilized and came to Raleigh on April 28th to make it clear: our land, our water, our communities matter.

At our press conference that same day, we presented a united front that featured Halifax County Board of Commissioners Chair Vernon Bryant, Warren County Chair Al Cooper, Vance County Chair Carolyn Faines, Roanoke Rapids Sanitary District Attorney Melissa Dixon, Haliwa-

Saponi Tribal Council Vice Chair Earl Evans, Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott, and state legislators.

And that unity made the difference.

When SB 214 came back up for a vote that afternoon, Section 5 was gone.

This was a small victory. However, we must remain vigilant. Speaker Hall said the issue may be revisited if the local entities involved with Section 5 — Franklin County, Warren County, Oxford, and Henderson — can’t come to an agreement.

So, while we must keep our eyes on this situation, we know that when we stay informed, engaged, and united, we are powerful, and we can win.

House District 27 Representative Rodney Pierce represents Halifax, Northampton and Warren counties